


Quakes in the Dark

by MishaAnya



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angst, Hurt Fíli, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 00:24:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3670614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MishaAnya/pseuds/MishaAnya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili and Fili are sent ahead to find a safe place during the storm in the mountains. An unfortunate accident leaves Kili with an impossible decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quakes in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> comments, constructive criticism, and praise are always welcome. Thanks!

The thunder raged above the company with a fierce roar. In the down pour, Gandalf could make out the giants throwing rocks at one another, their misses hitting the steep side the dwarves were cowering on. Thorin was right to try to seek shelter, but he wondered what safety they would find on this path.

“Kili! Fili!” Thorin barked. “Go on ahead. See if you can find anything for us.”

Kili nodded and grinned at his brother. Being the youngest had some advantages, like getting more responsibilities the others didn’t want. Fili rolled his eyes and they headed off. The way was slow, the cliffs were slick with rock, and the way dark except for flashes of lightening. The giants paid them no heed, but the projectiles were becoming closer and closer to the ledge that held the two brothers.

“There’s a turn up here!” Kili called behind him.

Fili nodded and started for his younger brother. A flash of light across the sky illuminated the range and Kili saw one of the boulders coming towards them. The light was gone in an instant, but he knew what was coming. “Fili! Run!”

The boulder hit the ledge above them and the pieces started to take out the floor below them. Kili looked back at his brother, eyes wide open as he saw Fili struggling to keep his balance. The floor beneath Fili disappeared and Kili lunged for the golden haired dwarf.

His hand grasped Fili’s wrist and he was dragged down. At the last moment, grasped a ledge with his free hand, his hand becoming raw against the harsh rock. His right shoulder screamed as Fili stopped falling. Below him, Fili swung into the mountain side and became limp.

“Fili!" 

Kili tried to rouse his brother, but found it impossible. His hands were not free and any shift could loosen his grip on the mountain side. His feet dangled as he tried fruitlessly to find some way to take all the weight off of his left arm. Fili still hung below him. In a flash of lightening, he could see blood mixing in the rain on the dwarf’s face.

Kili cursed. He had no way to save them. If he moved an inch either way his hand would slip off and he couldn’t reach for anything while trying to hold on to Fili. “Mahal, help us,” he muttered.

All he could do was hang there. His mind went through a handful of different ideas, trying to find some way to get Fili up. If he could just get the older dwarf up, maybe he could shift him on to his shoulder and carry him up. He could have use of both his arms.

It was worth a shot. Kili put all his strength into his right arm, pulling Fili closer to his waist. He hooked his left around Fili’s and when he was sure Fili wouldn’t fall, he let go momentarily and shifted the unconscious body onto his shoulder. When he was as sure as he could be, he grasped the mountain side with both hands.

It worked. He now hand to hands to work with, though the muscles in his right arm weren’t working properly. Gingerly, he tried to hold himself with his right arm and lunge for a rock not an inch above him. As soon as his left hand let go, his right arm began to scream once more. Immediately he clutched the mountain side with both hands again.

His hands ached. His left one had held his weight and that of Fili’s and he could feel the skin of his palms being torn open by the rough stone. With each passing minute, he realized their chances of survival dwindling in the night. He wished Fili would wake up. Then they might have a chance. But a glance at his brother’s face told him that was unlikely. The head wound had not yet stopped bleeding.

Kili put his head against the cold stone. How fitting that they should die like this rather than in battle. Dis had been worried about the battles to come, not the journey there. What glory was there in being defeated by a thunderstorm?

Kili felt a pang in his chest as he thought of his mother. The one he promised to come home to, the one who grudgingly let her only sons go on this quest. And he thought of Thorin, the rightful King under the mountain who would now reclaim the kingdom without an heir. Kili wondered what adventures he and his brother were now to miss.

The young dwarf took a breath. He was losing feeling in his right arm and his left hand was peeling with every second. He could not last much longer. With his head against the stone, he began to sing one of the burial songs he remembered. It was the closest he could give himself and Fili a proper dwarvish farewell. He hoped it was enough for them to enter the halls of Mahal.

He would not go out like this. He would choose his moment of good-bye, like the old men of Numeanor, they were said to depart in peace when they so choose. He would take as long as the song took him and then he and Fili would fall into the abyss below. 

While he sang into the stone, he once again remembered his mother and his uncle. And he felt a small pang of gladness that he might meet the father he never knew. He had never felt without, because Thorin had been more than enough, but it would still be nice to meet the dwarf that had once made his mother so happy.

He realized his eyes were now burning. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this. He was at the second to last verse of the song when he could hear humming in the stone of the mountain. He wondered if the giants were returning to this area and found he didn’t care. His time was up and he was ready.

He started on the last verse, his eyes closed and his head pressed into the stone. He stayed like this and it was like this Thorin found him. The elder dwarf spoke gently so as to not spook his nephew into letting go. “Kili, give me Fili.”

The younger dwarf opened his eyes and Thorin looked deep into them. “Lad, it’s okay. Dwalin is going to take him from here. Hand him to me.”

Kili shifted his right arm as much as he could. Once free of Fili’s weight, it hung loosely at his side and refused to do anymore bidding. Thorin handed the unconscious Fili up to the company above him and then wrapped his arm around Kili. The company heaved the two of them up and Thorin examined Kili while Oin looked after Fili.

“You gave us quite a scare,” Thorin muttered.

Kili didn’t say anything.

Thorin touched his right arm and bent it to examine it, causing Kili to hiss. “It’s overused,” Thorin muttered. “And your left hand is in shreds.”

Kili said nothing as Thorin wrapped his hand and then fashioned a sling for his right arm. “Kili, you are safe. Fili is safe. You’ve done us proud.”

“Fili hit his head.”

“Oin is looking at him. We’ll check with him in a bit.” He stared at his nephew. “Kili, I know what you planned on doing.”

Kili looked at his uncle. “I tried, Thorin. I couldn’t save us both.”

“So you were going to let both of you fall.”

Kili nodded. “I could not live if I had let him fall.”

Thorin nodded silently before standing. “Are you angry with me?”

Thorin shook his head. “Kili, the only thing worse than losing both of you, would be losing only one of you. I would not wish the death of a brother on either of you. Rest. You may visit Fili in the morning.”

Kili nodded and collapsed into one of the bed rolls the other dwarves had lain out for him. His whole body ached, but he took comfort in knowing the rest of the dwarves were guarding him. Before long, someone laid Fili next to him. He fell into a deep, though sore, sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if this needs more of an ending. Let me know if you think I should add another chapter.


End file.
